Tag Archives: Matthew

When did the early church begin celebrating Easter?

Posted on by
12

Matthew 28:1, When did the early Christians first celebrate a day commemorating the resurrection of Yeshua?

Although the resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah is a biblical and historical fact, it’s celebration (known as Easter), is neither commanded in the Scriptures, nor was it celebrated by the original disciples of Yeshua. It is purely an invention of the church, and that eventually replaced Passover! Here are the facts:

Easter 33365762

In A History of Christianity (vol. 1), Kenneth Scott Latourette states that notice of Easter as a festival occurs in the middle of the second century, but that festivals commemorating the resurrection of Messiah were presumably observed by at least some Christians from much earlier times (p. 137). Philip Schaff also attributes the beginning of the Easter festival to the middle of the second century (History of the Christian Church, vol. 2, p. 207). He states that the Christian Passover naturally grew out of the Jewish Passover, as the Lord’s Day (Sunday) grew out of the Sabbath. “It is based on the view that Christ crucified and risen is the centre of faith. The Jewish Christians would very naturally from the beginning continue to celebrate the legal Passover, but in the light of its fulfillment by the sacrifice of Christ, and would dwell chiefly on the aspect of the crucifixion. The Gentile Christians, for whom Continue reading →

 

An “Earie” Lesson from the Bible

Posted on by
3

The more I study the Bible, the more I see how every little detain in it is important. Nothing is contained there in, no matter the smallest detail, without a reason — without a lesson to be taught and learned. What follows is another example of this. Not only that, we shall see that an understanding of the Torah helps us to understand what is going on here. —Natan

21413842

Matthew 26:51, The servant of the high priest…cut off his ear. Was it Peter’s (John 18:10) intention to cut of the servant’s ear or head? Some theologians suggest that Peter was going for the head, but missed and got the ear (actually it was the earlobe; see TDNT 5:543) instead. Likely, Peter’s intended target was indeed the ear, for the servant, who was a priest himself, would have been disqualified by the Torah from serving in the temple if he had any physical defect or blemish such as a missing ear (Lev 21:18–21).

Not only that, but Peter went for the right earlobe (Luke 22:50; John 18:10), which according to the Torah (Exod 29:20) had to be anointed with blood as part of the consecration process of a priest. An improperly consecrated priest was disqualified from service in the temple as well. So by cutting off the servant’s earlobe, Peter was striking a fatal blow to his career, not to mention his ego.

 

Some Thoughts on Yeshua’s Judgment of the Sheep and Goats

Posted on by
4

Matthew 25:31–46, The nations will be gathered. 

The Goat and Sheep Nations Judgment

Matthew 25:31–46 describes Yeshua’s judgment of the sheep and goat nations. Some see this event as occurring at the beginning of the Millennium. Others see it as a process culminating at the end of the Millennium with the release of Satan from his bottomless pit prison after which he will tempt the nations to rebel against King Yeshua. The last scenario seems unlikely, since those who follow Satan’s rebellion will receive immediate judgment upon arriving at Jerusalem to confront Yeshua. They will be devoured by fire out of heaven (Rev 20:9). No mention is made in this passage of a judgment between the sheep and goat nations. There’s only swift judgment upon Gog and Magog.

Flock of sheep in the mountains

It seems likely, therefore, that one of first orders of Yeshua’s official business upon his return to the earth will be to judge between the sheep and goats. Here he will separate the wicked from the righteous who have survived the wrath of Elohim at the end of the age just prior to Yeshua’s second coming. This is like a mop-up operation after a great war. Those who have shown kindness to the saints will be allowed into the kingdom of Elohim during the Millennium, while those who didn’t will be cast into the lake of fire. This appears to be an initial purging of the spiritual wheat from the chaff at the beginning of Yeshua’s millennial reign. Those who are left are presumably those who didn’t take the mark of the beast and hence won’t be destroyed with those who did (Rev 19:20). They showed their faith by their actions, and King Yeshua’s grace will be extended to them and he will give them an opportunity to receive eternal life. Perhaps these are those who are implied in Revelation 16:2 who refuse to take the mark of the beast and worship him during the wrath of Elohim period.

Some Bible teachers view the judgment of the nations not as a one-time event that occurs at the beginning of Yeshua’s millennial reign, but as an on-going process during his reign. This could be the case, since Yeshua may give the nations time to accept his rule and learn the truth of the gospel little-by-little.

Whether those of the goat nations will be cast immediately into the lake of fire isn’t clear. The lake of fire is mentioned in Revelation 20 at the end of the Millennium and in conjunction with the white throne judgment. Perhaps Yeshua will allow the goats to remain on the earth, and they will be those rebels he will be forced to rule over with his rod of iron, and who will refuse to come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles in Jerusalem annually. Perhaps they’re the ones who will eventually be deceived into rebelling against Yeshua at the end of the Millennium when the devil is released from the pit (Rev 20:7–10).

 

New Video: Yeshua to Destroy NWO Banking & Religious System

Posted on by
2

When Yeshua overturnend the money changers’ tables in the Jerusalem temple and cursed the fruitless fig tree after his triumphal entry, he was taking a political stand. He was also predicting his destruction of the evil New World Order Babylon the Great antichrist system at his second coming as this video explains.

 

Being Cast Into Outer Darkness Vs. the Fiery Furnace

Posted on by
Reply

Matthew 22:13, Outer [or exterior] darkness. This is likely not a reference to destruction in the lake of fire, which is the fate of the wicked, but  rather the place where those who will be least in the kingdom (Matt 5:19) will reside. They will not be living in close proximity to Yeshua as his bride in the New Jerusalem, which is a place where there is no darkness or night, for Yeshua who is the Sun of Righteousness (Mal 4:2) and whose face shines like the suns (Rev 1:16) will be the light of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:23; 22:5).

New heaven:earth

Rather, the place of reward for those who weren’t properly attired in robes of righteousness (Matt 22:11) will be to live further away from the New Jerusalem somewhere in the New Earth. Light is a biblical metaphor for a knowledge of the truth or being able to see spiritually, while darkness is a metaphor for ignorance or spiritual blindness.

It is possible that these who will be least in the kingdom, though possessing eternal life, will be living in a state of not possessing as much divine revelation or spiritual light because their reward. This is because they failed to properly prepare their robes of righteousness to be the bride of Yeshua as the lesson of the previous parable teaches us. The reward of these people who will be least in the kingdom will be to abide in a place on the new earth that is further away from the New Jerusalem and that has less spiritual light shining on it.

Outer darkness being a lower position in the kingdom of Elohim as opposed to being cast into the lake of fire seems to the idea in the other scripture passages where Yeshua uses this phrase ( Matt 8:12; 25:30). In the verbal imagery of Yeshua, being cast into outer darkness seems to be in direct contrast to being cast into a fiery furnace, which is a reference to the fate of the wicked. This fate is final and is eternal damnation in the lake of fire (Matt 13:42, 50 cp. 3:12; 25:41; Mark 9:43–49; Rev 19:20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:8).

 

Woe be to a false religious and economic system that are in bed together!

Posted on by
Reply

Matthew 21:12, Temple of Elohim…money changers. With the same violence that Yeshua threw out those who loved money from YHVH’s temple, we must cleanse the temple of our spirits by expelling from our souls the love of money, which is the root of all evil (1 Tim 6:10).

At his second coming, Yeshua will destroy the fruitless, end times whore system of banking and religion.

At his second coming, Yeshua will destroy the fruitless, end times whore system of banking and religion.

In this event, Yeshua is coming against the rapacious banking system of the nation of Israel, which was centered around the temple, which was the storehouse of the nation’s wealth. This evil banking system continues to this day and is run by a cabal of global elitists who control the governments and economies of this world for their own benefit. Often the religious and banking systems are united at some level, since both are motivated by the love of money and power. At the highest levels, neither care for the welfare or well-being of the common man — especially the poor and helpless who have little power, wealth, voice and influence. At Yeshua’s second coming, he will suddenly come to his Continue reading →

 

“Hosannah in the highest” — One Phrase With Many Prophetic Meanings

Posted on by
Reply

Matthew 21:9, Hosannah in the highest. The simple Hebrew phrase hoshana rabbah has more depth and spiritual significance than first meets the eye. Let’s explore it.

First of all, it was this phrase—hosanna in the highest—(Heb. hoshana rabbah) that the crowds of Jews exclaimed as Yeshua entered Jerusalem riding a colt in Matthew 21:9 (also Mark 11:9; Luke 19:38). This event has become known as Yeshua’s “Triumphal Entry.”

Worship16958564

The phrase hoshana rabbah, in part, derives from Psalm 118:25, a psalm which is called the Great Hallel (Heb. meaning “praise”), and was the climax of a series of psalms that the priests would proclaim or sing from the temple in Jerusalem on various feast days including the Feast of Tabernacles.

Psalm 118 is a prophetic psalm, which speaks of the coming Messiah who was the hope of the Israelite people. The words of this psalm prophetically points to Yeshua the Messiah in every way. That’s why the crowds proclaimed “hoshana in the highest, ” at Yeshua’s entry into Jerusalem, for upon him, they had pinned their highest hopes of a Messianic figure who would deliverer them from their oppressors (in this case, the Romans).

The actual Hebrew words in Psalm 118:25 are ana YHVH hoshiah na, which can be translated as “I beg you YHVH save now,” (Green’s Interlinear), “Save now, I pray, O YHVH” (KJV), or “O [YHVH], please save us!” (The ArtScroll Stone Edition Tanach).

The phrase “Hosanna in the highest” was an added exclamation of the people, and is not Continue reading →